EDITORIAL - Time to cut losses

Dr. Paulus Cañete can call it whatever he wants. But at the end of the day, with almost every agency that matters for the survival of his school already ranged against him, it is time he realizes his is a losing battle and that the time to cut his losses has come.

It is not for lack of courage that he must give up, for it is always the better part of discretion to know when to stop. There is no way to misinterpret the signs unless one simply refuses to see them for what they are.

Dr. Cañete cannot continue to feed his graduates false hopes. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. The fact is, their education has not been recognized and the longer they refuse to accept that reality, the more difficult it is for them to recover and move on.

There are moves to have his graduates admitted at the other school with the same name, the Mandaue City College recognized by CHED, PRC, and the RTC, subject to certain validation procedures, which are necessary under the circumstances. That should be as good as it gets. 

The alternative is more agony and uncertainty. And that can mean more lost time and more lost opportunities. The students do not deserve a fate that is not of their own choosing. It may not be their fault that they are in a bind. But it will be if they refuse to do the right thing.

Right now the only way out of the rut is for the students to take the path that hews to all the requirements. If it means going back to square one, then maybe that is just the way the cookie crumbles. But to wait for something that may not be coming can only worsen their fate.

The students cannot afford to make another wrong choice. And if Dr. Cañete truly cares for his wards, he must not take them through a protracted legal battle whose resolution cannot be assured in their favor.

The situation has to be seen in the only light available, and it is this: The government agencies that apply in this case would be remiss if they allowed Dr. Cañete’s graduates to take the board exam when the education they got leading to this point had not official recognition.

Allowing them to take the board on the basis of an education acquired under questionable circumstances does the larger community a great disservice and places people at a disadvantage, if not outright peril.